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orthopaedic surgeons

My nine year old son blew his knee out. (Total ACL tear, severe bone bruise and meniscus damage) I didn't care for the Dr. here in DSM and have an appointment in IC with the guy that does all the Hawkss BB knee surguries. Any suggestions? Being nine I'm afraid he's going to need surgury multiple times before he's done growing.

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

Iowa City has one of the best orthopedic centers in the country. The only reason bad thing about UI is that they're a teaching hospital, so there's a chance that the surgeons doing the work aren't exactly seasoned vets. My dad had a bad hip/femur fracture that basically couldn't be fixed anywhere else in the state so it was his only option - everything turned out great for him.

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

There will be concerns about his leg growth plates regarding the repair. They can't drill through them as it'll kill the growth plate. I'm sure there are ways around this now as my first ACL was a long time ago (1995). I blew my first ACL out as an 8th grader (2nd day of basketball practice) and my other knee out in college as a junior. I went to Greenwald, who was pretty good, but by far my best experience was with Wisconsin Sports Medicine in La Crosse. At the time, my doctor was the Green Bay Packer's doctor but again, this was a long time ago.

Pick a doctor who does these for real athletes (not just regular people). I had a horrible experience with my first ACL in Waterloo with the orthopedic surgeon there. He clearly misdiagnosed my blown ACL and I had an unnecessary knee scope because of it.

Recovery is 6 months to a year in most cases. Aggressive physical therapy will keep it down. In both cases I was done in the 6 months, and in Ames I was actually released at 4-1/2, but a lot of that was because I was no longer an athlete.

The single most important thing post-op is to do the motion exercises as much as possible (wall slides so you have to bend your knee). Retaining as much motion as possible in the early weeks will make the therapy go much faster. I actually had one of the fastest recovery times my physical therapist had seen.

Also, if you do go with Greenwald in Ames and have therapy at ISU, then you get the benefit of rehabbing with ISU athletes (or at least I did). Shane Power and I were doing therapy at the same time (just before the Eustachy scandal and Shane leaving)

PM me if you want more info. I've had both the hamstring version of the surgery and the patellar tendon version. They each have their benefits, but for a 9 year old my guess is they'll be recommending either the hamstring or a cadaver ligament. I'm not sure how they get around the growth plate issues though, so be sure to ask.

"If baseball players speaking in front of Congress can be put on trial for perjury, then why shouldn't the politicians we vote for be held accountable to the same standard during their campaigns?" -Paraphrased from The Newsroom​

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

Two more things. I know I mentioned previously to get a surgeon that works primarily with athletes, but I'd also make sure I look at a pediatric orthopedic surgeon (and frankly lean that way since he is so young).

Also, if he has meniscus damage, they might end up immobilizing his knee for awhile, as the most important thing in this scenario is that his meniscus heals (especially long term).

"If baseball players speaking in front of Congress can be put on trial for perjury, then why shouldn't the politicians we vote for be held accountable to the same standard during their campaigns?" -Paraphrased from The Newsroom​

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

Dr. Greenwald saw our daughter when she broke her arm around her first birthday. He was great.

Uggh... Broken arm around 1? I thought they were invincible. My twins are jumping off the couch onto pillows (which they put below them) at 15 months. Can't leave the room anymore.

"If baseball players speaking in front of Congress can be put on trial for perjury, then why shouldn't the politicians we vote for be held accountable to the same standard during their campaigns?" -Paraphrased from The Newsroom​

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

Uggh... Broken arm around 1? I thought they were invincible. My twins are jumping off the couch onto pillows (which they put below them) at 15 months. Can't leave the room anymore.

It was totally random, too. We think it may have actually happened on stairs at daycare, but that provider wasn't very forthcoming with info (hence a quick change), but she exhibited pain at home when she leaned on the high chair tray. So that's what we have to assume caused it. She had a buckle fracture, but it was luckily very simple to heal. Three weeks in a removable splint/cast thing that we could take off during baths. (She learned to ninja out of that QUICK, though.)

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

If you want the particular dr you're seeing to do it and not some inexperienced guy tagging along, specifically say and write down that you only want the particular dr to do it. Let the noobs learn and practice on someone else.

Re: orthopaedic surgeons

Steindler Orthopedic Center in IC is great. My husband saw Dr. Mysnyk for 2 knee surgeries. Their surgery center is very nice, and the doctor really seemed to know his stuff. I think he does work with the UI athletes. They are associated with Mercy rather than UIHC, so no student doctors.

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